Health and Fitness Friday : C25k Training

Happy Friday everyone!!

It's time for my favourite post of the week.

I'm linking up with Jen over at A Daily Dose of Davis for Health and Fitness Friday.

Lets start with last Friday. Went to my Sculpted Abs class and I was glad to find that my torn ab muscle was much better. No pain when I was doing the exercises. Felt good to feel the burn in a good way.

Saturday was C25K group training day. I was all set for a good run. The grand opening of the railway track we run on was happening there that morning but we didn't think it would hold us up too long. Boy were we wrong!! We stood for an hour in the freezing cold while the councilors and ministers talked. It's was like 1 degree. Finally got to run and it turned out to be a good run. We did 3.5k run/walk in 30 minutes. Bad news is I got a cold out of it and have been sick all week.

Sunday was going to be my rest day but I went following a hunt to take photos. I spent the day running up and down hill and fields, climbing over gates and ditches and running up and down roads all the while trying to get some good photos. So much for a rest day. It was fun though.

Monday was meant to be my Skinny Jean class. After Saturday and my hard day Sunday I was beat Monday. Every part of me ached. My head was throbbing and I couldn't breath through my nose. I decided to skip the class and sit by the fire with a hot drink.

Wednesday, I felt much better. Needing to get my butt back in action. I decided to go for a run. Wasn't expecting anything am

azing. I didn't think I was going to be able to do the 8 minute runs. I thought I try 5 and see how I feel after that. I surprised myself. I managed to do 2 miles in 22 minutes. I could have run for a little longer too but I got back home at 22 minutes and decided to stop while I was going good. 

I can't believe the changes in me in a month. It's amazing!! I can breath and run at the same time. That never happened before. Ever!!

Going to try get another run in today if I can.

 The plan for the coming week.

Friday (today) : Run and Abs class

Saturday : Hunt

Sunday : C25K Training

Monday : Skinny Jeans

Tuesday : Rest

Wednesday : Run

Thursday: Rest

We're moving on to week 6 of the Couch to 5k program.

Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:

Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)

Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)

Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:

Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)

Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:

 jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.

My diet was ok this week. My main meals were great but my snacking... not so much. I had a major dose of the munchies when I was sick and the chocolate was hit hard. But onwards and upwards and I'm gonna do better next week.

I did try a new recipe this week for my cooking link-up Tried and Tasted. Beef stew with seasonal vegetables from the Operation Transformation website. It was delicious. I'm going to be making it again for sure.

And that is it for this week.

Tried and Tasted : Beef stew with seasonal vegetables

Welcome to my new Link-up everyone.

I hope to find many new recipes here and even find some new blogs to follow here.

I cooked Beef stew with seasonal vegetables from the Operation Transformation website. I have cooked a few of these recipes and they have turned out great. 

My camera broke the weekend and I wasn't able to take any pictures of my finished result.

But it was yummy!

Photo from Operation Transformation website.

Ingredients:

500g diced beef

600g turnip peeled and diced

400g sweet potatoes peeled and diced

300g baby onions (or shallots), peeled and halved

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

3 bay leaves (optional)

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 tsp dried thyme

15g butter

1 tsp salt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160ºC

In a large oven proof saucepan or casserole dish melt the butter.

Add the beef pieces and fry until brown.

Add the onions. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 5 mins.

Add the turnip, sweet potatoes and chopped tomatoes and mix together.

Add bay leaves if using, thyme, peppercorns and salt.

Cover and place in the oven for about 2 hours.

And serve

Note: I added some carrots and blitzed the tomatoes to make them more smooth. I also added a beef stock cube.

Now for the rules:
Link back to my website in your post or add the button.
It's not too much to ask, is it?

Happy Tuesday everyone!

{Recipe} Healthy Cottage pie

I've been following Operation Transformation ever since my mom joined up this year.

I wasn't convinced that the food would be nice but we tried out this and it was yummy.

I decided to give another recipe a try and this is the one I picked.

Cottage Pie

Serves 4

 Ingredients:

450g lean minced beef 

2 x cans of chopped tomatoes with herbs

 600g potatoes, peeled and quartered 

600g frozen mixed carrots, beans, peas and sweetcorn, defrosted 

200g courgettes, grated 

200g fresh cauliflower 

100ml of milk 

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

 1 beef stock cube melted in 50ml of boiling water

 ½ tsp dried thyme

 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 

salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. 
Put the potatoes into a saucepan of cold water. 
Place the cauliflower in a steamer on top of the potatoes. 
Bring the pot to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 
When the vegetables are tender mash them together with the milk and a little salt and pepper. Set aside. 
Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan. 
Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until soft.
Add the mince and cook until lightly browned. 

Add tomatoes, courgette, thyme, defrosted vegetables and beef stock. 

Cook for 10 minutes to evaporate excess juices. 

Spoon the mince and vegetable sauce into an ovenproof deep dish. 
Cover with the mashed potato and cauliflower. 
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. 
Serve